27th Annual AACS Essay and Poetry Contest

                                                                                         

                                                                       2009-2010 Topics

 

ELEMENTARY:          POETRY-The Circus

      ESSAY-The Hardest Words to Say

 

JUNIOR HIGH:        POETRY-The Perfect Gift

    ESSAY-Running the Race

 

RULES:

     1.    Entries shall meet the specific length requirements listed below:

ELEMENTARY LEVEL (Grades 4-6)

Poetry:            75-200 words

Essay: 100-350 words

JUNIOR HIGH LEVEL (Grades 7-9)

Poetry:            150-300 words

Essay: 250-500 words

 

     2.    Students should be told the topics at least one week prior to writing so they have time to think through what they wish to communicate.

 

    3.     Students must submit a handwritten entry written in the school and under school supervision without adult or student assistance.  The student should first write a "rough draft" copy with the necessary corrections. The student then proceeds to write a final copy.  ENTRIES TO STATE AND NATIONAL COMPETITION MUST BE FREE OF WRITTEN COMMENTS AND CORRECTIONS.

 

     4.    No reference materials or notes except a King James Bible and a dictionary shall be permitted at the time of writing.  Research may be done outside of class, but no notes may be used during the writing period.  The time limit for the writing is 90 minutes.  Additional time may be given to re-copy the manuscript neatly.

 

     5.    Students must use standard wide-ruled notebook paper.  The final copy must be written in pencil or black ink using only one side of the paper.  Entries may be photocopied for school judging and will be photocopied for state and national judging.  Leave a one-inch margin on all sides of the paper.

 

     6.    The following information must be listed at the top of the first page of the student's entry: Student's name and grade, school name, city and state, category entered, and number of words.  A "fancy" cover page or title page is not allowed.

 

If the student uses more than one piece of paper, each additional paper should have the following information: page #, student's name, and name of school.

 

DO NOT staple the pages together.  Stapling tears out the corners of the photocopies.

 

     7.    The main judging criteria will be the content, originality and communication of the piece.  Mechanics, such as spelling, punctuation, paragraph structure, poetical form, neatness, etc., are secondary criteria.  The schools should have received copies of each judging sheet. If not, please contact your state office. 

     8.    Original student entries must be submitted to the state association by November 13, 2009.  Each association will select one winner in each category on each level.  These four winners will be sent to AACS for the national judging; these entries should be received in the National Office by January 15, 2010.  National winners will be announced in April 2010.

 

AWARDS

State winners will be presented medals.  National winners will be awarded plaques.

All awards will be provided by AACS.